Week 13
Week in Review
Monday June 19, 2017
Today, our Toastmasters class was the best we have had so far! Everyone presented a speech at such a pristine level with no use of jargon. All of the selected speakers executed all of their objectives with confidence and without hesitation. One of the speakers I recognized a huge improvement in his speech quality is Terrance B. He made the entire Toastmasters class silent with a respectable and attentive awe; his speech was very informative and entertaining. Another person that had a very interesting speech is Michael S. – his ability to grasp the audience’s attention and not let go is unbelievable. We could listen to him every day in our Toastmasters setting. We have fun in Toastmasters when all of us apply ourselves, and today would have been a fun day for anyone. We have heard stories about fishing trips, vacationing to a foreign land, being in a musical theatre, and many more to choose from. If you want to get to know someone, Toastmasters is something I would strongly recommend because it gives you a better understanding of the person who is giving the speech.
When our Toastmasters class first started, a lot of us were shy and had problems with speaking publicly, but there were also a few people who had no problem speaking in front of a crowd. Now that we have had practice with giving a speech with appropriate body movement, eye contact and facial expressions, our presentations are pristine. Which is only right, considering the name of our class is Pristine ‘17.
Fontaine R. (a.k.a. Sideburns)
Tuesday June 20, 2017
Today we had an overview of Chapter 9 of our entrepreneurship book and an introduction to Integrity Selling, a new book we received that discusses tips on being a successful salesman.
Also, because some of us had signed up to be Servant-Leaders by helping facilitate the new Phase One of the Winter 2018, today was our chance to give back to the upcoming class.
We began the afternoon session with a presentation on our brochures and how important it is for us to do a great job on them. We also did a presentation on an assignment for integrity selling. Then we did pray-outs for five of my brothers who are on their way home. After this, a lot of us expected a pop quiz, but we were happily surprised when the DJ started to play the Chicken Dance song, and we were more than happy to do the Chicken Dance. For the rest of the class we all danced to different types of music at the same time, so you could say our class ended on a good note.
At 5 p.m. we had special guest discuss Project Management, taught by Michelle G and Cindy. We had to pick one aspect of a project and break it down into different segments. We had so much to learn, but these two made it a fun class to be in.
Today was full of excitement. There is no place like home. The same statement applies here, because there is no place like PEP.
Christopher S. (a.k.a. Princess Fiona)
Wednesday June 21, 2017
Today a few of my peers and I received some good information that we requested from our Business Plan Advisors. The information is vital because it helps us with our business plans.
I am looking forward to working with Phase I in the morning. I will be giving a presentation with a fellow Pristine ’17 brother about accountability. PEP is such a great program. It has really opened our minds to things we may have never had the opportunity to pursue outside of PEP. I want to thank them for everything they have offered me and my brothers up to this point.
We are going to attend our last night of Project Management class tonight, which is giving us the knowledge we need to understand the steps it takes to plan an event as a project manager. The ladies who teach the class are just great. We have a big test tomorrow with Mr. Bert S., but first I will be at the back of the room dancing for Phase I. That should be fun. It never gets any easier, but it is always exciting.
“Who are we?” “We are PEP!” I will never forget that chant. It is exciting when we are all pumped for an event and we do the PEP chant. Honestly, we sound like a bunch of Spartans. We will keep our heads held high and keep moving along with PEP until the day comes where we go home. God bless!
Joshua S. (a.k.a. Blossom from the Power Puff Girls)
Thursday June 22, 2017
It is a good day to be alive. Today we went to the PEP room, prayed-in got situated and seated before the day got started. Shortly after, we were served with our Chapter 9 test from our Entrepreneurship textbook. After that Bob C. gave us our lecture on Chapter 11, which is about marketing. It was about a three-hour lecture on steps to build a marketing plan. It consisted of identifying your market; specifying your target customer; determining sales management procedures; and forecasting sales. Bob gave us a lot of information that we could use in our business plans. The two most significant things I learned today were about sales management and forecasting sales. After he completed the lecture we had an “issues and tissues” session (which is an opportunity for us to challenge the answers we got wrong on our test.) with Bert S. As usual, there were a lot of issues. On some of the questions the test graders look for verbatim answers, but some of the questions can be tricky. I know that if we put in the necessary effort toward studying, that same level of effort will apply in life as well. In all we cannot be mad if we do not properly prepare for the test by not studying because the proof will come out eventually. We enjoy when Bert comes to teach, because he has could be charging money to teach us the information he shares since he used to be a corporate lawyer. The time and love he shares is priceless. We are thankful for Bert S and the PEP volunteers.
Ty’Derrious S. (a.k.a. Erica Badu)
Expressions
PEP always has a twist in it. This week in Toastmasters I spoke in front of my brothers. Talking in front of people was hard for me at first, due to the mixed emotions of anxiety and nervousness, and then I begin sweating. I have improved now because I am more confident and comfortable speaking in front of people. That is exactly what Toastmasters offers: a chance to practice and learn how to convey our message with confidence, passion and purpose.
We continue to work really hard studying, testing book after book, chapter after chapter. But on Tuesday, after a short presentation over our brochure assignment and praying-out five of my PEP brothers who will be going home soon, before I knew it we were doing the Chicken Dance. What a sight to see grown men doing the Chicken Dance. I had fun and learned it is okay to have fun in prison, especially if it is the right way. PEP showed me it is okay to be yourself and have fun. Instead of having your guard up and taking everything seriously.
Bert S. comes from Houston every Thursday to teach us. He is a true Servant-Leader. PEP is really a blessing and a great opportunity, and I am happy to be in a program like this. Thank you, PEP.
Brandon S. (a.k.a. Ariana Grande)